Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said that the board had given in-principal approval to infuse ₹1,200 crore in electric vehicle subsidiary Switch Mobility as part of its core investment strategy, even while considering all options to raise funds through various modes.
Ashok Leyland reported standalone net profit for the June-ended quarter surged more than eightfold to ₹576 crore year-on-year on account of higher sales across segments and one-time deferred tax credit of ₹172 crore on expected transition to lower tax regime.
Revenue from operations grew by 13% to ₹8,189 crore, while cost of materials contracted by 4% to ₹5,876 crore.
“In Q1, even after removing the adjustments of ₹172 crore, we have seen our profit increasing by over fivefold. Going forward also, our aim is to grow faster than the industry,” CFO Gopal Mahadevan told the media adding that they have lined up capital expenditure worth ₹750-800 crore for FY24.
Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said that the board had given in-principal approval to infuse ₹1,200 crore in electric vehicle subsidiary Switch Mobility as part of its core investment strategy, even while considering all options to raise funds through various modes.
“It (the fund raising) might happen during the next few weeks or months. We have to see how and when it will be deployed, while working on alternative fuels such as EVs, hydrogen ICE, fuel cell EVs, LNG or CNG,” he said.
Asserting that e-LCVs were being produced at Hosur and e-buses at Ennore, he said e-LCVs will be rolled out post Diwali, followed by e1 buses (for European and West Asia markets) and low-floor buses.
Asked about the slight decline in export volumes, Mr. Mahadevan said that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh markets had some challenges. They were likely to open up soon resulting in some growth for the company during the later part of this year.
On the African market, he said it was a used-vehicle market and they were trying to convert it into a new-vehicle market.
“While we continue to expand our market penetration on the back of efficient products and expanding the network, we shall remain acutely focused on achieving and sustaining double-digit profitability,” said MD & CEO Shenu Agarwal.
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